A Super Secretary to Shake Up State

Monday, Sep. 03, 1973

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Paradoxically, it is among some of America's closest allies, particularly the Europeans, that Kissinger has the most immediate labors to perform. This is not to say that the Europeans were not pleased with the Kissinger appointment. The French respect him as an intellectual as well as a boulevardier. The Germans seem modestly pleased that Kissinger is the first prospective U.S. Secretary of State who speaks their language like—well—a native. Said one official in Bonn: "When we get upset about some problem or other, he'll take us aside and explain it in German. That always makes us feel better." Most Europeans seemed to agree with the judgment of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: "For Europeans, this foreign minister is a gain. No one knows the Atlantic problems like Kissinger."

Despite these praises, there are real difficulties. Recognizing the need to rejuvenate the Western alliance, Kissinger proposed last April a "new Atlantic Charter" (later redesignated a "Declaration of Principles" after West German Chancellor Willy Brandt complained that the original name sounded too much like the Allies' World War II pact), which was to redefine the principles of cooperation in such varied fields as military security, monetary reform, trade, energy, science. Eventually the blueprint was to include—in most fields other than security—Japan as well. But the Kissinger proposal for the "Year of Europe" has been coolly received in most of the Continental capitals. "Every year in Europe," one bemused British diplomat remarked last week, "is the Year of Europe."

Most of Kissinger's ideas remain to be worked out in a wide range of forthcoming conferences: On the balance of forces (MBFR) in Vienna, on European Security in Geneva, on SALT II in Geneva. President Nixon himself is expected to tour Europe in the fall, and there may be a European summit meeting as well.

Energetic Role. So far during his operations at the White House, Kissinger has intentionally stayed away from the Middle East problem—partly because he was busy with other matters, and partly perhaps because he could see no way to solve it. Instead, Secretary of State Rogers proposed a plan that led to a cease-fire along the Suez Canal for the past three years but has resulted so far in a stalemate rather than a peace settlement.

The first reaction of many Arab newspapers to Kissinger's appointment was to object to the fact that he is a Jew. KISSINGER BECOMES THE FIRST JEWISH U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE, headlined Beirut's al Moharrer. On the other hand, many Arab diplomats were waiting to see whether Kissinger would take as energetic a role in settling the Arab-Israeli impasse as he did in ending the Viet Nam War. Some wondered whether, in the Kissinger view, Palestinians should play as vital a part in Middle East peace talks as the Viet Cong did at the conference table in Paris.